Friend Leadership

This book is one of the first you should read when starting Tiimi. Easy to say, right, but here I am, starting 2nd year and just get to read it. hihi. Never mind, I think. Some things take time and espacially in Tiimi. Furthermore, I like to bump into methodology books during my studies, because it always remembers me what we do in here and why.

Friend leadership describes „how to lift yourself and how to get your team flourish“. The term Friend Leadership is originally derived from a coaching program by Johannes Partanen1 led (From the Young Manager Come Real New Leaders) at Tiimi- akatemia2 in Jyväskylä, Central Finland. 

The book is talking directly to Gen Z and emphasize visualisation as a learning tool. Toivanen describes „Steps to working Friend Leadership“.

Those are: Earth, Water, Fire, Wind and Void. Sounds crazy? Let me explain.

Earth: The base. You. The first sign of a good management group and friend leadership is knowing yourself.

Water: Each spirit creates a single drop or a vast ocean. Form a meaningful team with the shared vision.

Fire: Energy. Ignite the teams energy, lead the team, you make ota operation possible.

Wind: The road. Find your road and follow it. It means to know your environment and bringing something new to the business.

Void: Be mindful. Aware of presence. Think of what you know and what you don’t. Listen to your own heart and encourage others.

You can find definition of how Friend Leadership look like as well as principles of co-operation leadership. Those are lists of characteristics and musts for you as a Friend Leader.

„Friend Leadership comes from a positive view of mankind. Think, how would you implement these 10 principles? Read these 10 points once again. Write in your own words, what each of these mean to you in practice.“ I wrote this task right here to my essey.:

Friend Leadership

• Be sensitive to people’s emotions and act accordingly. As a Friend Leader, you must remember your own humanity.

We are all human and we cannot a should not act just rationally. It is not even our nature. Being empathetic and pure makes you much more valuable and trustful persone.

• As a leader, always be attentive and available, a genuine listener. Only actions count in Friend Leadership.

Connected to the first point. Be present, open, empathic and act accordingly.

• The basic task of Friend Leadership is the leading of a learning organisation, and the needed basic skill is the ability to inspire others towards the common goal.

It is important to know what is learing organization, only than you can lead one.

• You can’t lead others if you can’t lead yourself.

It all starts with ourselves. If you can’t handle yourself how do you want to handle others? It doesn’t mean to be perfect, nobody is. It means that you know your own worth and your own lacks which you are working on.

• In Friend Leadership, it is vital to set up playing positions for all in the team company, and to concentrate on their - individual strengths. Team building skills are the absolute prerequisite for successful team leadership.

I think this point is very hard to execute. Know everyones strenghts and help them to get to the right position. But i believe this management skills is the one that secure great funcition of the team, helps with individual motivation and leads to building high-perforamance team.

• Everything rises and falls on leadership, and leadership falls on lack of communication. Friend Leadership is never an award – it must be earned every day.

Communication is the key. Have you ever heard it? I hope you did and I hope you will.

• The Friend Leader’s task is to create community positive thinking in the team company, together with its coach.

No one ever get to their goals with negative thinking. Of course, nothing works as you wish, but it helps to set your mind to positive mind. What you send out is what you get.

• Friend Leadership is always setting an example. What you give your attention to, others will also.

If you want something from others, you should act that way. If you say one thing and than do other, you are not trustworthy person and no one will act as you please.

I got inspired by the idea of two managers for one role. It’s called a Dual management model. It means that there can be two responsible people - one is focused on managing and the other on production or another focus area. 

As I said before, the book is also about visualisation. It was quite funny and embarressing for me to read this chapters, because I’ve realised where Zuza got so many ideas and visual tools. As she said, I got many Easter eggs during reading this book. Never mind, I know now:D

There is a visual tool for each step of Friend Leadership. For example, the process of completing the study contract is described here. So yeah, it is funny to read about essentials after a year.

I love to read the book. I realised I am already doing a lot of things from the book (LC, meetings, managers, Shared vision, Leading Thoughts, Team roles, motorola reports).

New things for me are: already desribed Dual management model, laughter yoga, annual clock or positivity as an essential characetristic of a high-performance team. - there should be 6 postivite speaking to 1 critical.

Sometimes I hear that we, as a team KAAMOS, are too loud, to positive, too playfull. But isn’t the life about it?